Slight improvement in air quality, sudden spike could land Gurugram in ‘severe’ zone

Air quality in the city remained in the ‘very poor’ category for the third consecutive day on Sunday, recording an air quality index (AQI) of 317 on the Central

Air quality in the city remained in the ‘very poor’ category for the third consecutive day on Sunday, recording an air quality index (AQI) of 317 on the Central Pollution Control Board’s daily bulletin.

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The air quality on Sunday improved marginally from the previous day, when the city recorded an AQI of 325, which is also in the ‘very poor’ category. The level of ultrafine particulate matter, having a diameter of 2.5 microns or less (PM2.5), the city’s primary pollutant, was 225.23 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³) on Sunday, as per the data recorded by the CPCB’s air quality monitor at Vikas Sadan in Sector 11. The level was almost four times the permissible limit of 60µg/m³.

According to the early air quality warning system for Delhi-NCR, the air quality is likely to improve marginally but remain in the lower end of ‘very poor’ category on Monday. Experts attributed the high pollution levels to low wind speed, which is restricting the dispersal of pollutants.

“Due to low wind speed, pollutants are not being dispersed. Stubble burning is also taking place rampantly and pollutant particles are being carried forward to other areas from the plains,” said Sachin Panwar, a city-based air quality scientist.

An official with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that the wind speed was expected to improve after October 27, which would subsequently improve the dispersal of pollutants. “Due to low wind speed in the Delhi-NCR, coupled with other factors, dispersal of pollutants has been weak and air quality has been poor. Once the wind speed picks up, we can expect some improvement,” said the official.

On Sunday, the city recorded a maximum temperature of 33.7 degrees Celsius, a marginal increase from Saturday’s 32.2 degree Celsius. The minimum temperature on Sunday was 11.2 degrees Celsius, the same as the previous day. Both the maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to rise by a degree on Monday, as per the IMD forecast. As per the IMD’s weekly forecast, a clear sky will prevail on Monday.

Shakti Singh, nodal officer for Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) implementation in Gurugram, said agencies in the city are collecting around Rs 1 lakh per day in fines every day from those violating the norms and causing dust pollution. He said that more than Rs 7 lakh had been collected from offenders as penalties, from October 15 to 24.

“The fines imposed are expected to go up since we have been conducting extensive patrolling. We have been conducting night patrolling regularly to keep a check on activities that lead to dust generation. Besides, complaints addressed to us through various platforms are also being addressed to curb pollution generating activities,” said Singh.